Jesus Offers Himself

MEMORY SELECTION: “Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” —Mark 14:36

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Mark 11:7-10; 14:32-36; 15:33-39

IN A series of brief but dramatic episodes, the Gospel of Mark presents Jesus’ last week on earth. His few short years following his baptism in the river Jordan had been spent in service to his Heavenly Father, in teaching and by example. The time had come for the giving of his life for the people.

The first episode in our selected scriptural reading describes our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This was the center of political and religious power in Roman-dominated Israel. And what a grand entry into the city it was! “Many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.”—Mark 11:7-10

Having entered Jerusalem, Jesus proceeded to the temple—a decision that would cost him his life before the week ended, but a decision that he knew was the will of God. He knew his purpose in life was to be the antitypical Lamb that would take away the sin of the world; he was familiar also with the prophecies of the Old Testament writings concerning the necessary sacrifice for sin.

Jesus could, no doubt, quote those prophecies from memory, having spent his entire life becoming familiar with them. Preparing for his departure to Jerusalem, he perhaps read some of those prophecies; for example, the one written by Zechariah which reads (Zech. 9:9): “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

The second episode in our selected scriptural reading concerns the agonizing experience our Lord suffered in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, together with his apostles, “came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.”—Mark 14:32-34

It is difficult to imagine the tremendous burden that Jesus bore, alone, in that garden. He not only thought of the terrible cross, with all of its accompanying pain and distress, but he also was fearful that in some way, perhaps, he may have failed to carry out the will of God in connection with his life of sacrifice, or that he may not have kept the Law in every detail. He understood fully that the slightest infraction in the covenant which he had made would mean the complete upsetting of the plan of God in connection with the redemption of the human race.

The final portion of this study concerns the final hour in our Lord’s life. The cup of sorrow did not pass from him. He had been forsaken by those who were closest to him, betrayed by one of his own apostles, arrested, beaten; and now he hung with all his weight on that gruesome cross—the ultimate symbol of suffering.

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) The crowds of people who were nearby misunderstood what he was saying and, instead, thought he was calling for Elijah, who they supposed had come to announce the messianic kingdom. And with that (vs. 37), “Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. [breathed his last.]”—RSV

The penalty for man’s disobedience and the wages of sin was therefore paid by Jesus. It was a difficult way that he chose, but it was the one that had been marked out for him in God’s Word.

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